


the undead

by toadpot



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Circus, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Angst, Death of a loved one, F/M, Falling In Love, Family, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:21:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22319293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toadpot/pseuds/toadpot
Summary: Back then he was a somebody.Now he watched them, dance effortlessly, continuously.





	the undead

**_"Grandad, I can hear something"_** Leyla whispered, gripping onto the zipper of her grandad's jacket, the cold metal cooling her skin.

The old man looked at the 16 year old, deep blue eyes swarming with endless emotions, "you should be hearing things, I'd be worried sweet-"

**_"Not like that Grandad!"_** She whined, eyes scrunching as she laughed slightly at his joke, _**"like I can hear something walk."**_

He shook his head, once blonde hair falling to cover his eyes, "not something, someone."

_**"I'm sorry wha-"** _

"Sweetheart." Leyla's grandad interrupted, "do you know where we are?"

With a slight nod, **_"the abandoned auditorium."_**

With a sigh, he led her to the middle seats. "Not really."

With a scrunch of his nose, he got comfortable in the red leathered seat. "This is the haunted auditorium, and it's been abandoned."

**_"Okay, I wanna leave now."_** Leyla whispered, sinking down in her seat in fear.

"They're not going to hurt you," He whispered softly, cold air coming from his lips, "they've been wanting to see you."

Leyla's eyebrows pulled together, **_"uh. Who?"_**

Sniffing loudly, he motioned for his granddaughter to get comfortable. 

The chair beside him squeaked in response.

"You know how your mum doesn't have a mother?" He questioned, looking at the girl who was staring mesmerised at the stage.

A nod.

"My wife, your mum's mother, performed here sweetheart. She performed here with her friends."

With a soft gasp, Leyla turned around, _**"what was her name? what was her band calle-"**_

Her granddad shook his head, "Not from there, the story won't make sense. My name sweetness, is Felix Feather."

**"I _know_ that Grandad,"**

The old man's face shifts into a large smile, "back then, I was a somebody."

Frowning, **"** **But you still ar- . . .** ** _what_? " **

"I used to perform on this stage." Her grandad responded, eyes glazing over. 

"On the weekends, my friends and I used to perform on this stage. We were called _The Circus._ We were that crazy bunch of kids you know? It started off when we were in school, I think probably Year 11, our last year of education - there were 7 of us. 3 girls and 4 guys."

"The oldest of the girls, her name was Shines-"

**_"Wait really?"_ **

With a shake of his head, "no, but you cannot ever speak of their names anymore."

Frowning and sitting up taller, Leyla questioned, _ **"why?"**_

"Be patient love, we'll get to it."

"Shines was one of the aerial performers, you know the ones who dance with the bars, ropes and fabric and hang off them in the sky? Flip and trick like it's all they know. When she performed, it was like, like the world was hers. She performed like she could _fly_. She had half and half hair. Half black, half white. It was long too, reached her hips."

_**"Isn't that dangerous?"** _

He nodded. "Very, but she performed without it bothering her. She was dubbed shines because people said she glowed when she performed. There was this light that surrounded her, it changed colours but, it was usually this deep indigo."

"Next was Bows. She was the ringmaster of the show, like a presenter. Dressed in beautiful suits that adorned the most colourful bows. It was her thing, you know? She had this loud booming voice, like the roar of hundreds of lions were deeply embedded into her."

"She was popular with the boys, back then there was no _'ideal figure'_ at least not in this town. But, for _her_ ,men from all over this country came to see, just catch a glimpse, hear a whisper of her loud voice."

"Next was _Crystal_." Felix spoke, eyes tearing, voice cracking slightly.

**_"Grandad?"_ **

With a shake of his head, he continued. "She was a trampolinist. Was called Crystal since her outfits always glimmered, reflected - " _a snort,_ " darling, i'd say they let out _light_. That's why she was called Crystal. She was also the youngest of the trio, and they were fiercely protective of her. When Crystal performed, the lights were turned off, she emitted her own light you know? It was so bright keeping on the large over-head lights would be useless, you wouldn't be able to see her."

"She had these eyes, eyes that held **_galaxies_**. They claimed they felt giddy, lighter after looking into her eyes." Felix laughed aloud, hands reaching forwards to rest on the spine of the chair in front. 

"It's funny because, people who stared into Bows' eyes claimed they saw the sun, y'kno? Said they saw the light they never knew they had inside them. That's why people came to watch us, they wanted to _**know**_ , to _**feel**_ , who they really where. People said Shines' eyes held the moon, they said she had this mysterious aura around her, that it seemed she held the weight of the world and the _**knowledge**_ that came with it." 

"Now we're onto the lads. The oldest of us was named Blaze."

**_"Could he set himself on fire?"_** Leyla jokes, face hardening as she saw her grandfather's face.

"He could, it was why he had difficulty controlling his powers and his anger. He had a flame inside him, constantly burning, warm, lighting. It would only shine brighter, y'know? Never dim. His eyes were this charcoal brown, people would swear they saw fire in his eyes. Like flames dancing with his iris'"

**_"What was his act?"_ **

"He played with fire. A dangerous game I'll tell you, but it was okay. He was dangerous too."

"After Blaze it was Neptune. He, much like the Greek God, he controlled water. He performed straight after Blaze, cooling down the heated auditorium he left in his remains. Neptune, he was a juggler. He threw knives, daggers, shot arrows, whilst surging rings of water from his hands. It was majestic let me tell you that. His eyes weren't blue, they were this dark brown, not charcoal like Blaze, but a dark brown. A brown that seemed to hold the emotions of the world." 

Humming to himself, in somewhat agreement with himself, Felix continued, "If Shines' eyes held the weight and knowledge of the world, his held the heart and emotion of it. The two of them had this unbeatable chemistry too, not the kind lovers have, but the kind that people who was lived multiple _**lives**_ with each other have."

"After Neptune it was Imp."

**_"Limp?"_** Leyla questioned, confused.

"No sweet, Imp. He was the trickster of the show, the mischievous one. I would say clown, but that seems somewhat degrading to me. He was anything but clownish. His eyes, people would tell me, they flickered, like they held the secrets of the world. Yeah, they'd tell me they swore they saw a bit of themselves in Imp. That Imp was probably them in another world."

"Sweetheart, they were stupid. Because Imp is not somebody you can just find. He's someone who finds you. He's like that feeling of euphoria, the serendipity the epiphany people say they feel when their lovers walk into their lives. He came and went like the wind, swayed by nobody but himself."

"Finally it was me. They called me Frost since I controlled ice and snow. People used to compliment me, tell me my ice shone nearly as bright as Crystal did. I laughed, you know? It was hilarious to me. My ice being compared to something as, as beautiful as Crystal? Never." 

**_"Were you in love with her?"_ **

With a shake of his head, "no, sweetness. I was not in love with her. I am in love with her. My love for her is as endless as Blaze's fire, as loud as Bow's voice, as emotional as Neptune's water, as deep as Shine's aura. Her love feels like the euphoria people felt when catching a glimpse of Imp. It's as bright as she shone when she performed, Sweetness."

Tears in his eyes, Felix looked at the stage longingly, "I have never stopped loving her. Neither have I stopped loving my friends."

_**"What happened?"** _

"Well, we weren't the only act that performed on the stage, you know? We were just a scene, many other groups performed on this stage too, but most people left after we had performed. It caused many other acts to lose out on money."

"That's not to say we lived in luxury," a loud snort came from him, "we lived in an abandoned train carriage, we worked endless shifts at cafe's, cleaning dishes, cleaning toilets. It was disgusting, but _performing_ was our escape."

"People who performed there, soon came to hate us. It was just the 7 of us who stuck together, you couldn't trust anyone but those you surround yourself with in that industry."

"One day, the older 6 were acting a little weird around me. Your mother at that point had already been born. When I tell you that they were like my family _\- wait i'm sorry -_ they are my family. They treated me like I was the younger brother since I was the youngest of the group."

"They did a good job at protecting me too. People wanted to buy me since they thought I could stop the natural ice and snow from attacking their crops. One day this rich man had come to the performance, was assaulting me and said _'my, my pretty boy, your powers could have much more use than performance. Come with me, pretty boy'_

"At that point I was alone backstage, and I was certain that I was going to be kidnapped. He had began to pull me towards the door, and at that point the door squeaked loudly, and banged against the wall behind it."

"Shines was there. You see, she and Bows were very easily irked. Bows was usually the screaming, shouting, fighting one. Shines was angry in a different way, her anger started from deep inside of her, she'd ignore you to the point where you would question if you were really alive. But. This time? I've never seen her as angry. Her aura, from a calm indigo snapped, almost broke into a raging red. This deep, somewhat wolf-like growl came from her and she said _'Sir, I'd like you to leave'._ "

"This man was obviously stupid and he said _'listen lady, you shouldn't get involved with things like this.'_ "

"That was when she actually snapped. Her red flaming aura covered her, and when it disappeared, her hair was a raging red, iris' scarlet, almost like blood. She stepped forwards, and punched the man so hard, I swear I heard a pop of his nose and a crack of his jaw."

"She clicked her fingers, and he stood up tall, bloody and bruised. Then she spoke, voice low, growly and grainy. _'Leave'._ And he ran, ran and I never saw him again."

"The rest of the group turned up around that point, and they comforted me, hugged and cuddled me. Whispered sweet, sweet nothings to me."

"I was unaware that it would have been the last time I'd see them."

_**"Why?"** _

"They asked me in the middle of the night to take your mother and go on a walk. She was crying endlessly you see, and would only calm in my arms, with the moon shining on her."

"When I returned that night, the carriage was empty. I had thought that someone from the auditorium had called them all to help set up, I wasn't bothered since it was like that most nights."

"It must had been 3AM, when someone's fist rattled on the door of the carriage, voice scared, impatient, worried. It was my only friend outside of The Circus, his name was Joy."

**_"Joy?"_ **

"He was like Imp, performed jokes and tumbled around the stage."

"When I opened the door, it creaked more than it usually did, almost crying. I looked at his face and his colour drained, he looked as if he'd seen ghosts. I asked him what the matter was. And, with a quiet voice he said _'The Circus, have been murdered.'_ "

"I don't remember what exactly I felt, but I grabbed your mother, rapidly wrapped her in the marigold blanket and I ran. I ran, and I ran till I got here."

"I wasn't at all panting, but I suppose that was the effect of the adrenaline."

"Everyone who performed looked at me, then quickly looked down, refusing to look at me. I handed your mother to Joy, who held her in a tight embrace, nuzzled her for support."

"Slowly, I walked towards the stage, it felt like forever. Walking up the first step, I froze. Blood was everywhere. The stage floor was white, and almost in every crevice, was scarlet red. The same red I saw in Shine's eyes a couple hours ago."

"That was the first time I lost control of my powers. I screamed in pain, crying for death of my family. Ice spiralled out of me, sharp daggers pointing in every direction."

"I would have continued to cry and sob, if it weren't for Madame Mystery. She softly called my name, ' _Frost sweetheart. Come here'._ "

"Apparently, my skin had turned this deep blue, my blonde hair was sharp white. Hearing her voice was like white sound in my ears. I collapsed in her arms, cried and cried some more."

**_"Where they murdered, Grandad?"_ **

"Yes, sweetness. They were, by the men of the man who had wanted to buy me. My family had protected me."

"I heard stories of their fights, that Blaze had fire engulf and then erupted out of him, almost like a volcano. They said they felt Bows' voice tremble the ground, that Neptune's water drowned most of them. They told me Crystal, cried. They said she cried when she knew her time was over. They said she told them to tell me that she was sorry she didn't fight harder, that to tell your mother everyday she loves her."

"They said when they took their last breath, their magic flowed out of them in beautiful colours, and drifted up towards the ceiling lights."

"That is why this place is haunted, sweetness. Not in a bad way, but their magic protects this place. Countless times the government had come to break down the auditorium, and there are stories of colours blasting out from deep inside the ground, knocking everyone to the floor."

"People are afraid because, they do not understand the story. They do not know the struggles my family had gone through, the truth of this auditorium. People know that a group was killed here, some will tell you it was due to gang violence."

"Sweetness, my family died a beautiful way. They died in the presence of each other, knowing they had protected each other till the last breath they took. They are the true heros of this world, and the saviours of my life."

"They may be dead, but in my heart they are undead."

_**"Do you see them?"** _

Felix nodded, smiling as he looked at the stage, "I see them, I feel them. I know that they are with me every day, protecting me."

"I want you to understand, sweetness. We may be your family by blood, but the friends you make can be thicker than the blood of family."

**_"Yes Grandad."_ **


End file.
